ARCTIC VOL. 71, NO. 1 (MARCH 2018) P. 40 – 58 https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic4696 Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Polar Bears in the Northern Eeyou Marine Region, Québec, Canada Brandon J. Laforest1 Julie S. Hébert,2 Martyn E. Obbard3 and Gregory W. Thiemann1,4 (Received 4 July 2016; accepted in revised form 6 September 2017) ABSTRACT. Polar bears are important socio-cultural symbols in the communities of the Eeyou Marine Region (EMR) in northwestern Québec, Canada. Members of the Cree communities in this region are generally not active polar bear hunters, but they encounter polar bears when fishing, trapping, or hunting during the ice-free season. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that reduced annual sea ice cover in Hudson Bay has led to declines in body condition of polar bears in the local Southern Hudson Bay subpopulation and to a population decline in the neighboring Western Hudson Bay subpopulation. In June 2012, we conducted 15 semi-directed interviews on the subject of polar bear biology and climate change with local elders and hunters in three communities in the northern EMR: Wemindji, Chisasibi, and Whapmagoostui. The interviews held in Whapmagoostui included informants from Kuujjuarapik, the adjacent Inuit community. The interviews addressed knowledge gaps in the Recovery Strategy for Polar Bear in Ontario. Transcripts of the interviews were coded thematically and analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The interviews revealed important insights into polar bear distribution, terrestrial habitat use, denning, and foraging patterns. Participants were unanimous in their recognition of a warming climate and prolonged ice-free season in the area in recent years. However, communities differed in their observations on other issues, with latitudinal trends evident in observations of polar bear distribution, denning activity, and foraging habits. Communities also differed in their perception of the prevalence of problem polar bears and the conservation status of the species, with one-third of participants reporting that polar bears will be unaffected by, or even benefit from, longer ice-free periods. A majority of participants indicated that the local polar bear population was stable or increasing. Interviewees also identified future research priorities pertinent to the communities, and provided comments on the methods employed by polar bear biologists. Our results demonstrate that communities in the EMR have important knowledge about polar bear ecology and illustrate the unique opportunities and challenges of combining traditional ecological knowledge with wildlife science in the context of a rapidly changing subarctic environment. Key words: polar bear; Ursus maritimus; traditional ecological knowledge; Cree knowledge; Eeyou Marine Region; James Bay; Hudson Bay; sea ice; climate change; subarctic wildlife RÉSUMÉ. L’ours blanc revêt un caractère socioculturel important pour les communautés de la Région marine d’Eeyou (RME), située dans le nord-ouest de la province de Québec, au Canada. Bien que les Cris de ces communautés ne soient pas reconnus pour chasser particulièrement l’ours blanc, ils partagent le territoire avec l’ours blanc lors de leurs déplacements et activités de chasse, de pêche et de trappe. Un nombre croissant de preuves scientifiques suggère que la réduction annuelle de la couverture de glace dans la baie d’Hudson aurait causé une dégradation de la condition physique des ours blancs de la sous-population sud de la baie d’Hudson et un déclin de la sous-population voisine, dans l’ouest de la baie d’Hudson. En juin 2012, nous avons réalisé une série de 15 entrevues semi-dirigées concernant la biologie de l’ours blanc et les changements climatiques avec des aînés et des chasseurs de trois communautés de la portion nordique de la RME : Wemindji, Chisasibi et Whapmagoostui. Les entrevues tenues à Whapmagoostui ont inclus des répondants du village inuit adjacent, Kuujjuarapik. Les entrevues abordaient des lacunes au niveau des connaissances, telles que déterminées par le Programme de rétablissement de l’ours polaire en Ontario. Les entrevues ont été transcrites et codées par thèmes afin d’être analysées suivant des méthodes qualitatives et quantitatives. Les entrevues révèlent d’importantes informations relativement aux connaissances sur la distribution, l’utilisation des habitats terrestres, les aires de mise bas et les habitudes alimentaires des ours blancs. Les participants ont unanimement constaté le réchauffement du climat et la prolongation de la période libre de glace au cours des dernières années sur leur territoire d’activités. Cependant, les points de vue des participants diffèrent pour ce qui est de certains enjeux, selon un gradient latitudinal évident, concernant la distribution, les activités de mise bas et les habitudes alimentaires de l’espèce. Les perceptions des communautés diffèrent aussi relativement à la prévalence des ours blancs problématiques et en ce qui concerne le statut de conservation de l’espèce, avec le tiers des participants jugeant que les ours blancs ne seraient pas affectés, 1 Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada 2 Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, 951 boulevard Hamel, Chibougamau, Québec G8P 2Z3, Canada 3 Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada 4 Corresponding author: [email protected] © The Arctic Institute of North America TEK OF POLAR BEARS • 41 ou pourraient même bénéficier, d’une plus longue période libre de glace. Une majorité de participants indique que la population locale d’ours blancs est stable ou en augmentation. Enfin, les répondants ont indiqué les priorités de recherches pertinentes à leur communauté et partagé des commentaires sur les méthodes employées par les biologistes. Les résultats montrent que les communautés de la RME possèdent des connaissances importantes concernant l’écologie de l’ours blanc, illustrant ainsi les opportunités et les défis afin de combiner ces données à celles des sciences biologiques, ceci dans un contexte de changement rapide de l’environnement subarctique. Mots clés : ours blanc; Ursus maritimus; connaissances écologiques traditionnelles; connaissances des Cris; Région marine d’Eeyou; baie James; baie d’Hudson; couverture de glace; changement climatique; faune subarctique Révisé pour la revue Arctic par Nicole Giguère. INTRODUCTION conditions decline (Laidre et al., 2008; Molnár et al., 2010, 2014; Rode et al., 2010; Bromaghin et al., 2015). Recognizing the knowledge of Northerners when Polar bears in Hudson Bay and James Bay are forced conducting research in the Arctic is gaining momentum to move on shore when the sea ice completely melts each in Canada (Riedlinger and Berkes, 2001; Huntington, summer (Obbard and Middel, 2012). Without access to 2011; Canadian Polar Commission, 2014). Indeed, the marine mammal prey species that comprise most of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) has informed and their diet, polar bears on shore must rely largely on stored complemented a variety of wildlife studies in the North fat for energy. Climate warming has increased the length (Gilchrist et al., 2005; Lewis et al., 2009; Huntington et al., of this seasonal fasting period by three to four weeks 2011; Ferguson et al., 2012; Herrmann et al., 2012; Kendrick, compared to 40 years ago (Gough et al., 2004; Gagnon 2013; Polfus et al., 2013; Royer et al., 2013; Voorhees et and Gough, 2005; Hochheim and Barber, 2014; Obbard et al., 2014; Joint Secretariat, 2015). The localized effects of al., 2016). Recent scientific studies have demonstrated that a warming climate vary across regions and communities the Western Hudson Bay subpopulation of polar bears has in the North: they are dependent on geography, as well as experienced declines in body condition, reproduction, and social, historical, and economic contexts (Duerden and survival, which have contributed to a population decline of Kuhn, 1998). TEK can serve to portray the effects of a more than 30% since 1987 (Regehr et al., 2007; Lunn et al., warming climate on a human scale by situating the impact 2016). However, the Western Hudson Bay subpopulation of broad-scale phenomena in local communities (Furgal et has remained stable over the past decade because of the al., 2006; Pearce et al., 2009). recent stability in sea ice conditions (Lunn et al., 2016). The Arctic is warming two to three times faster than The neighboring Foxe Basin subpopulation to the north has the global average rate (IPCC, 2013), and the effects of this also remained stable in size, despite deteriorating sea ice warming will profoundly influence northern traditional conditions in that region (Stapleton et al., 2016). ways of life (i.e., hunting and traveling on the land) (Furgal While on land, polar bears in Hudson Bay consume and Seguin, 2006; Downing and Cuerrier, 2011; Laidler terrestrial vegetation (Derocher et al., 1993), but past stable et al., 2011; Meier et al., 2014; Pearce et al., 2015). Rising isotope analyses have indicated that these foods do not atmospheric temperatures have led to increased water contribute significantly to the energy budget of polar bears temperatures in the Arctic Ocean and decreased the extent (Ramsay and Hobson, 1991; Hobson and Stirling, 1997; and thickness of summer sea ice (Comiso, 2002; Gagnon Hobson et al., 2009). Although recent modeling work has and Gough,